Practo makes an entry into Latin America starting with Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tencent-backed HealthTech startup Practo, an online platform that connects patients with doctors, has launched its services in Brazil, the largest market in Latin America, starting with the city of Sao Paulo.

Practo will introduce two of its services - Practo Search and Practo Ray in Brazil and will be available in two languages - English and Portuguese. At launch, the company will have over 5,500 doctors listed on its platform, covering 50 per cent of all clinics in Sao Paulo.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve millions of consumers in Brazil and simplify healthcare experience for doctors and consumers simultaneously. Over the next few months we will expand our coverage and product lines to enable consumers to make better healthcare decisions and live healthier lives," said Shashank ND, founder and CEO of Practo, in a statement.

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With four acquisitions under its belt, including rival Insta, Practo now has a presence in 15 countries, Practo has a presence in over 50 cities and lists 200,000 doctors and 10,000 hospitals on its platform.

The company is solely focused on growing its presence in emerging markets, where healthcare faces a challenge due to inadequate infrastructure and other constraints.

"Developing market provides us with the right kind of environment to foster this innovation and we want to show this innovation out. Developed markets whether we can replicate this or not is going to be a challenge, because insurance penetration is high, there are legacy systems built out years ago. So, I think it requires a very different strategy," said Shashank, in an earlier interview with Business Standard.

With $90 million in funding led by Chinese internet giant Tencent in the second half of last year, the company says its well capitalised to fund its expansion into more overseas markets. So far Practo has acquired Instahealth, Qikwell, Fitho and Genii to boost its technology platform and grow inorganically.